Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday sought to defuse a growing political controversy over his “body language” in the state Assembly, saying a gesture made during his speech a day earlier was inadvertent and had not been intended to hurt anyone personally. The clarification came after his gesture of placing a hand against his jaw during a combative Assembly speech triggered criticism, with political opponents alleging that it was aimed at former chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin.
In a post on X, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief referred to his September 7 reply to the debate on the demand for grants for the Police Department and said the body language that appeared during his address had been involuntary. Vijay urged people not to interpret it as an attempt to hurt anyone's feelings at a personal level. His clarification followed criticism from the DMK and CPI(M) over the gesture, which came while the Chief Minister was referring to the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and political events surrounding the Emergency.
Jaw gesture sparks political row
The controversy centred on Vijay placing his hand against his jaw during his Assembly address. The gesture was interpreted by some political leaders and social media users as a reference to Stalin's incarceration during the Emergency. Stalin was detained under MISA during that period and has long spoken about the treatment he faced while in custody. CPI(M) Tamil Nadu leader P Shanmugam accused Vijay of making a personal attack and argued that ridiculing a person's physical appearance was unacceptable, particularly from someone holding the office of Chief Minister.
Senior DMK leader E V Velu also attacked Vijay over his conduct in the House, alleging that he had used theatrical gestures while referring to the imprisonment of DMK leaders during the Emergency. The opposition argued that the sacrifices and experiences of political leaders detained during that period should not be trivialised through gestures or personal references.
The dispute over Vijay's body language, however, was only one element of a much wider confrontation between the ruling TVK and the DMK that engulfed the Assembly over two days. During his reply on Monday, Vijay launched a sharp attack on the previous DMK government, invoking Enforcement Directorate documents and the Sarkaria Commission report while levelling allegations of corruption. He referred to alleged irregularities involving state-run liquor retailer TASMAC and also raised allegations concerning the municipal administration department.
ED papers fuel Assembly confrontation
Vijay cited central agency documents while accusing the previous government of organised corruption and referred to former minister V Senthil Balaji and others while discussing alleged irregularities in TASMAC. He also invoked the Sarkaria Commission's findings from the 1970s while attacking the DMK's record, using the expression “scientific corruption” during his criticism of the opposition party.
The remarks prompted a furious response from DMK legislators, who challenged the Chief Minister's allegations and demanded an opportunity to respond. Opposition members protested inside the House, raised slogans and moved towards the Speaker's podium. The DMK also objected to Vijay referring to people who were not present in the Assembly to defend themselves and questioned the use of allegations linked to cases and investigations.
The confrontation continued on Tuesday when DMK whip E V Velu sought the removal of Vijay's contentious remarks from the Assembly records. The government defended the Chief Minister, arguing that his statements were based on official documents, including material from the Enforcement Directorate and the Sarkaria Commission. Leader of the House K A Sengottaiyan also opposed the demand to expunge the remarks.
Speaker J C D Prabhakar rejected the opposition's demand, prompting further protests by DMK legislators. As members continued sloganeering and gathered near the Speaker's podium despite repeated appeals to return to their seats, the Speaker eventually ordered the watch and ward staff to remove them. House marshals subsequently evicted the protesting DMK MLAs from the Assembly.
DMK questions House proceedings
The eviction intensified the political confrontation outside the House as well. Stalin questioned the manner in which the Assembly proceedings were being conducted after DMK legislators assembled at the party headquarters following their removal. DMK leaders maintained that they had been seeking an opportunity to challenge allegations made against their party and its leaders.
The controversy has turned Vijay's response to the police grant debate into one of the sharpest confrontations between his four-month-old TVK government and the principal opposition DMK. What began as an exchange over law and order expanded into a wider battle over corruption allegations, the political legacy of the Emergency and the conduct of proceedings inside the Assembly.
Vijay's clarification on Tuesday sought to separate his controversial gesture from the political substance of his attack on the DMK. While he maintained that his body language had no deliberate or personal intent, he did not withdraw the broader political allegations made during his Assembly speech, leaving the confrontation between the government and the opposition unresolved.